Change of Lifestyle: A Novella About Teaching, Love, and Second Chances
What causes teacher burnout? And what happens to teachers when it strikes, or more likely, builds up until it becomes too much. Do they quit the profession, or find ways to continue teaching?
These questions are at the heart of my novella Change of Lifestyle. It’s lighthearted, but has a social conscience.
Set in London and Jakarta, Change of Lifestyle tells the story of Gabe Shaw and his ex-girlfriend Michelle. The novella charts the start and end of their relationship in the London school where they both work and their possible reconciliation in Indonesia. It’s a love story, with playful elements of espionage running throughout (Gabe wants to write a series of spy books).
Teacher Burnout in England: The story Behind the Story
Change of Lifestyle is also about teaching and primary education, because I wanted to shine a light on how difficult teaching is, and the amazing work done by school staff.
So what does happen in a case of teacher burn out? We soon discover that Rob, one of Gabe’s friends, quickly decided after university that teaching in the UK wasn’t for him, and left to work in an international school in Indonesia.
Gabe himself has been teaching in a tough inner city school for seven years. But he feels so frustrated by the demands of the job that he grows increasingly disillusioned. And then a new supply teacher called Michelle takes over the class next door.
Challenging Classroom Behaviour
The section dealing with the start and end of Gabe and Michelle’s relationship takes place against some harrowing scenes in the school they work in, including a distressed child’s escalating behaviour. These scenes echo real incidents I’ve witnessed in thirty years of teaching. I cut out several more traumatic episodes because I wanted to keep the focus on Gabe and Michelle. But in the background, difficult behaviour constantly bubbles, always threatening to erupt. And there’s no doubt it affects both characters. The story also reflects upon the way schools handle disruptive and abusive behaviour.
On a personal note, over thirty years of teaching I’ve observed a real change in how difficult behaviour is handled in most schools. When I taught in London in the Nineties, hitting or attacking a member of staff was an absolute red line that would at the very least result in a temporary exclusion. Now, it is tolerated. In Change of Lifestyle, Michelle rails against the policy of ‘protecting the perpetrator, not the victim,’ while Gabe takes the view that perpetrators are also victims. Whichever side of the fence you fall on, it can be no surprise that cases of teacher burnout are on the rise, with staff retention becoming harder.
Why the Primary Curriculum Fails to Prepare Children for the Future
Change of Lifestyle is only a 24,000 word novella, so it could only include so many educational issues. However, the outdated and unsuitable knowledge-based curriculum is mentioned. In an increasingly soft-skills reliant jobs market, where AI will streamline (ie, devastate) the workforce, why are we teaching children so many facts they can find the answers to by asking Chat GPT? Children are struggling more than ever to collaborate together, communicate and take risks. As Michelle says, developing skills like these are what primary schools need to focus on.
Other issues mentioned are the way key stage SATs keep the curriculum so inflexible that there is no joy in it. In primary schools across the country, the only things children learn every morning, all morning, are English and Maths. Everything else is crammed into the afternoons.
The Fear of OFSTED
And finally, there is OFSTED, because of course there is. Change of Lifestyle asks the question: Is OFSTED a force for good?
Teachers probably know the answer already.
To Teach or not to Teach
Michelle’s summary at the end of the story perfectly encapsulates my own feelings about teaching:
“I love teaching. It’s a challenging, keep you on your toes type of job with incredibly rewarding moments. It could be wonderful, with the right systems in place.”
The problem is, when will the right systems be put in place?
Further Reading
Change of Lifestyle: You can read about Gabe and Michelle’s teaching experiences in Change of Lifestyle, available now on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. If you’ve ever wondered what teacher burnout feels like, or what it means to risk everything for a second chance, this novella is for you.
Living in Indonesia is about teaching and living in Indonesia.
Ancient Egypt v iPads: A Class Trip to the Sakkara Step Pyramids is about the fact that although you might be teaching abroad, kids are kids!
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